Not content to leave the series behind after his weird, messy prequel, Prometheus (2012), Ridley Scott is space trucking onward with a further adventure into the Alien franchise. Alien: Covenant, which is slated to hit theaters nationwide on October 6th, 2017. This latest follow-up will see Michael Fassbender reprise his offbeat android, David, from Prometheus, but will otherwise be filled with an entirely new cast. Noomi Rapace was originally expected to reprise her Prometheus character as well, but for now it appears that Dr. Elizabeth Shaw will not be popping up in this sequel. So who has Sir Scott assembled this time 'round? I'm glad you asked!

Katherine Waterston has already been confirmed as new female lead Daniels. Joining here are the varied likes of Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight), Carmen Ejogo (Selma), Jussie Smollett (), Callie Hernandez (Weightless), and Amy Seimetz (The Sacrament). According to Deadline, Alexander England (Gods of Egypt) will also be joining the ensemble. On top of these actors, both Billy Crudup (Watchmen) and Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down) are apparently circling roles in the film. The prospect of seeing Crudup, McBride, and Bichir bickering with one another in a Ridley Scott-directed Alien film is something that make me positively giddy, even in spite of the shagginess of Prometheus.

Alien Resurrection also showed off Michael Wincott, Ron Perlman, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Leland Orser, amidst the weirdness brought to the table by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The Alien vs. Predator films slacked off on this somewhat, though still managed to add Tommy Flanagan, Colin Salmon, and Robert Joy to the Alien acting pantheon. And, of course, Scott's own Prometheus showcased Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Patrick Wilson, Guy Pearce, Sean , Benedict Wong, and Rafe Spall. It's nice to see that Alien: Covenant isn't slouching when it comes to this tradition.

While Prometheus didn't quite make back its $130 million budget domestically (it pulled in about $126.5 million here), it raked in a healthy $276.9 million overseas. If anyone is wondering why is letting Scott roll forward with another installment, there's your answer. That said, with that under-performance in mind, it's no shock that this sequel is happening with "Alien" in the title and amping up the monster movie elements. I suspect both were studio notes from Fox and, so long as they let him make his latest weird epic with both tossed into the mix, Sir Scott is more than willing to comply.